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The holidays are upon us. I’m getting a little panicky……Excited and overwhelmed. However, I just bought tickets for the Nutcracker, we have much of our Thanksgiving food procured (sans the bird, yet!) and tonight…TONIGHT I will order Christmas cards!!! For me, I just can’t start shopping until the cards are DONE! It signifies the start of the shopping season for me. WOW!! How about you??? Do you wing it or are you structured? Blessings!!
And this Friday finds our lovely children home with Hubby (as he actually tries to work with them around…good luck with that, babe!) as their teachers put together report cards wrapping up the first 9 week period of the school year. And you’ll find me…..at work. Whatever. At least I’m not waking/dragging kids out of bed, to the breakfast table and then herding them through general hygiene and dress to the car. A little break, if you will. I’ll take it. You’ll also find me “groupie-style” with Jennifer Fulwiler and peeps throwing down some Quick takes…7 to be exact.
1) I’ve lost my way this week. Eating healthy that is. It started with my sister and nephews in town for the weekend (I always like to blame my sister….it feels comfortable…), then rolled into a potluck lunch at work and now here it is Friday and I’m wondering where in the HECK did my mojo go??? Fortunately, I’m still moving. Each day I seem to pull it together a little more, however, it’s KOOKOO (for cocoa puffs) KRAZAY what sugar does to you….it’s like a drug. Serious. C’mon, just a taste. Everyone’s doing it. Before you know it…it’s Friday and your body is all kinds of confused and begging you to just. walk. away.
2) We let our oldest stay home from school one day. End of the semester. The older grades were doing PSAT testing and the 9th graders were stuck in home room all day. Not to fear though….I left him a list. *finish driving permit practice test *laundry. all of it. *dishwasher *vacuum house*mow lawn. front and back. and neighbors. front and back. It was sooooo nice to come home to a clean and tidy house. We should keep him home more often…
3) I had to make a difficult decision in the best interest of someone else this week. Sadly this resulted in cutting out a treasured annual trip. However, in doing so, and receiving affirmation from a friend in my decision, it was an incredibly FAST and certain answer to prayer. I’m not sure what God has in store for ME that weekend, but I know He’ll be busy and I’m happy to not be an obstacle, but rather an intercessor, and that’s OK. The most important work ALWAYS happens behind the scenes.
4) Our girl has her cheer competition this weekend and each practice I’m more amazed at how these girls have put so much effort in over these past few weeks and to see this routine come together. Tonight, I actually got a lump in my throat as they practiced in front of the older and younger cheer groups. Pathetic, I know. What can I say? I’m a sap. Her first year cheering and of this I am sure: Sunday will be quite the experience that is a certainty. Which also means the season is almost over. Can I get an AMEN?!??! **note to self, grab earplugs from MRI tomorrow….
5) We are one week into the Read the Catechism in a Year for the year of Faith. I must say, I am truly enjoying it. So is Hubby! It’s in small bite size pieces (so far) and it’s a great Faith discussion for us to focus on TOGETHER during this year.
6) It’s Biketoberfest here. Thinking about taking my camera this weekend and shooting some frames. An interesting mix. Soccer. Football. Romney/Ryan. Cheer comp. Bikes. We live in an interesting and eclectic area. Fo’ sho!
7) Now that I’ve stayed up too late…it’s time to go to bed….and get a walk in before work. Because I can. Happy Friday, all and have a super weekend!!
**in reference to a portion of #6, I will NOT be attending…mainly due to time constraints and kid activities, also I really don’t enjoy getting stuck in traffic, etc. I’m good, I’ve made up my mind….I completely agree with Calah Alexander on her article about Politics…I’m pretty sure she wrote it for ME…though with many more actual facts…I’m not really a detail person, so thanks, Calah!!
If I did not simply suffer from one moment to another, it would be impossible for me to be patient; but I look only at the present moment. I forget the past and I take good care not to forestall the future. When we yield to discouragement or despair it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future. St. Therese of Lisieux
We are heading into Week 4 with the Peak 313 5 week challenge and I am pleased to say that Week 3 was a FAR better effort in every manner (for me). I KILLED it in exercise, mainly cardio however, I did squeeze in serious sets of lunges during a cardio session and hit my abs as well. The biggest deal (for me) was that I ate amazingly well. The key was simply…..plan. Wow. It worked. I was ready each day with my snacks and I wasn’t hungry and get this…..I had energy. Crazy, right?
The scale deal for me is I’m not weighing until the end of the challenge. The scale is a deal breaker for me. I can be doing EVERYthing right and if the scale isn’t where I want to be….I’m done. I will hit Dunkin’ Donut, Starbucks, whatev….because…why? Apparently I like to derail myself. Therefore, as I get older (and hopefully wiser), I aim more for how I feel, in my clothes and and my skin.
This week, I have my snacks and lunches pretty much stocked and ready to go. We are changing up a kiddo routine which calls for adjustment in my lunch hour, but that’s life…fluid and ever-changing, if we can’t adjust…..we’re sure to combust!
Stay focused this week! Here’s this week’s Scripture verse….
Blah. At some point perhaps I will try a boring weekend and see if that makes Monday more palatable. Naaaaahh….
This Monday starts week 3 of the Peak313 “5-week challenge” and I’ve got to say, so far, I’m sucking. OK, well, not a total lie…the first week was pretty good…with room for improvement on the food choices, but the second week. Blech!
Nothing truly earth-shattering, however, life got in the way and I let it. Bummer. It derailed my exercise AND my eating and so I fully experience the saying “when you fail to plan, plan to fail”. And fail I did. When you fall (or fail) you have to get up, brush yourself off and get back on the path. One day at a time. One foot in front of the other. And so on.
Somewhere around Friday I began to rally mentally. Better food choices. A little exercise. Saturday was a busy sports day for the girls with LOTS of driving, however, better food choices and a decent mental outlook on the day as a whole. Sunday was the RESTART: Mass. Walk. Grocery shop. Pre-cook for lunches for the week: Baked chicken breasts, brown rice, quinoa, hard-boiled eggs, cut up some veggies for the kids to snack on (and me). I also made some treats for the fam–not exactly “clean eating” but a treat…moderation, right? Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies–I’d give you my recipe, but it’s a little of this, little of that kind of deal but you could use this one from A Sweeter Thing. I made the cookies for a treat for the week (we’ll see if they last that long!) and I made a peanut butter pie for dessert last night.
Moving on….we have fruit and veggies in the house…I’ve got food prepared for the week…I can’t wait to try this pumpkin oatmeal recipe for breakfast this morning… I’ll be hitting the gym @ lunch today…we have a healing mission @ church tonight. Day 2. Week 3. It’s ON!
This challenge is motivating and encouraging and I am also EXTREMELY motivated by Socially Fit’s blog and Twitter feed throughout the day. Focus. Focus. Focus.
I’m off to start the morning rush…..How’s your week looking?
Peak 313..Week 3 Scripture verse!
I came to a revelation of sorts yesterday while I was home with our sick kiddo. First of all, I am not really a patient mother/wife/person when it comes to dealing with sick people, perhaps it comes from dealing with sick people all day; I have no compassion. It’s awful. I know. I try to be kind, but it is forced. The same thing happens if someone is going through a really difficult mental issue. No compassion. I try. Again, it’s forced and impatient. Last night, in talking with Hubby I realized that when it comes to my family and friends and their sickness and struggles I harden because I’m angry. I’m not angry with THEM, I’m angry with the fact that there is NOTHING I can do to “fix it”. I might be able to lessen the symptoms and make them more comfortable, however, for me…..that’s not enough, I want it fixed. Over, done and move on. It is why I am calm in the middle of a crisis (mostly), I focus on the end, the solution and what I can do to get there.
I’m not sure what I’ll do with this information. Mentally, I KNOW I can’t fix anything…and it is a work on growing my faith to do what I CAN do in loving on my friends and family during their times of sickness and struggle and to trust in Him, the Great Physician to take care of the rest. So, I suppose now that I’ve identified my issue I can pray on it and listen for direction and perhaps maybe, just maybe, be a little more compassionate when those times come.
Mark 16:18 “And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
making the trek 